Lawmakers may crack open a door for use of medical marijuana by protecting doctors involved in drug trials from prosecution.

Earlier this week, a group of lawmakers endorsed clearing the way for medical studies of cannabis oil — a non-psychoactive extract of the marijuana plant that’s illegal in Indiana.

The measure falls far short of the acceptance advocated by some parents and lawmakers. They want state clearance to use the controversial drug for all children with seizure disorders, not just those involved in a study.

A new study published in the most recent issue of the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, and published online by theNational Institute of Health, has found that activation of the body’s CB2 receptors – something done naturally by the consumption of cannabis – can rescue the brain from alcohol-induced neural damage.

“Chronic alcohol exposure reduces endocannabinoid activity and disrupts adult neurogenesis in rodents, which results in structural and functional alterations”, claims the study’s abstract. “Cannabinoid receptor agonists [such as cannabis] promote adult neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation.”

The National Football League takes a dim view of cannabis use, with many arguing player punishments are excessive compared to those who commit much more serious offences.

A professor of Organizational Behaviour and Sports Law thinks the league should actually embrace cannabis - for medical purposes at least.

The reason: marijuana can reduce side-effects and even cure common traumatic brain injuries that can lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), argues Dr. Jason Belzer in a recent article for Forbes.

Two sisters from Australia have come to Canada seeking help for a degenerative lung disease that could quickly prove to be fatal if not treated properly. And they are receiving it in Victoria, thanks to an alternative treatment centre that is supplying the children with cannabis oil.

The concern, however, is what happens when Tabetha, 13, and Georgia-Grace Fulton, 8, return home in a few months.

Prior to their arrival in Victoria this summer, the sisters were being treated in Australia with steroids — drugs whose side-effects, including osteoporosis, have drastically reduced their quality of life, says mother Bobby-Jo Fulton.

Applying to receive medical marijuana as a patient can be a confusing process, especially for people who are sick, says pharmacist Mark Mandel.

In an effort to mitigate the problems patients might face in submitting applications for the Illinois Medical Cannabis Card, Mandel and pharmacist Joseph Friedman hosted an event Saturday to help patients apply for the card.

Medical professionals were on-site to answer patients' questions, help them fill out applications and provide fingerprinting and shoot passport photographs, which are both required pieces of the application.

The pair plan to open Buffalo Grove's first medical marijuana dispensary in November and want to make sure patients are getting the help they need.

A new study reports that marijuana use more than doubled in the past decade. Between 2001 and 2013, the number of adults who used marijuana in the United State increased from 4.1 percent to 9.5 percent. 

The researchers also identified a substantial increase in marijuana use disorders or "cannabis use disorder" (CUD) during this time period. The researchers estimate that 3 of 10 current marijuana users have a cannabis use disorder.

Any way you look at it, dagga is medicine. Even if you smoke it just to get “high”, the South African weed won’t just alter your consciousness.

It has a host of other powerful pharmacologic effects on body and mind, which make it medicine by definition.

Depending on which side of the legalisation or criminalisation fence you sit on, you’ll see those effects in a good or bad light.

“The dagga couple”, as the media have dubbed activists Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clark, sit on the side of the fence bathed in the glow of a good light. They are part of an influential legalisation campaign in South Africa that has spread faster than the weed grows, and now includes medical doctors, psychologists, lawyers, and other interested parties.

According to the latest research results from the Medical University of Vienna, endocannabinoids, cannabis-like substances produced by the body itself, can affect the development of a baby's pancreas. The study also highlights the importance of diet during pregnancy for the foetal pancreas to form. These are the findings of a recent study that has now been published in the journal, PNAS.

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly, and with the ever-increasing size of this population, cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to triple over the next 50 years. Consequently, the development of treatments that slow or halt the disease progression have become imperative to both improve the quality of life for patients and reduce the health care costs attributable to Alzheimer's disease. Here, we demonstrate that the active component of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), competitively inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as well as prevents AChE-induced amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) aggregation, the key pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease.

COSTA MESA, CA--(Marketwired - October 22, 2015) - Nemus Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB: NMUS) has announced that the pro-drug of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in-licensed from the company's research and commercial partner, the University of Mississippi, has been granted a utility patent in Japan. The patent refers to the composition of matter and preparation of delta-9 THC amino acid esters and their methods of use. The lead Nemus compound in development for glaucoma, NB1111, would fall under this patent umbrella.